1 in 4 Americans Don't Believe in God; Lack of Trust in Local Churches Cited as a Reason Why Adults Are Leaving the Faith

Harvest
America attendees make professions of faith in Jesus Christ after
hearing pastor Greg Laurie share the Gospel with a sold-out crowd of
19,000 for Harvest America at the American Airlines Center and Victory
Park in Dallas, Texas, Oct. 5, 2014.

Barna Group has released its 2015 study on the state of atheism in America, and has revealed that one
in four unchurched adults in the country now identify as atheists or
agnostics. The study also found that rejection of the Bible and lack of
trust in the church are two main reasons why people are turning away from faith.The study was
focused on those who have not attended church within the past six
months, and found that the majority of such people identify as
non-practicing Christians. One in four, or 25 percent, however, were
classed as skeptics, which Barna defines as people who "either do not
believe God exists (atheists) or are not sure God exists, but are open
to the possibility (agnostics)."

Of that number, nearly one-third said that they have never attended a Christian church service in their lives.
Barna found that the three
main reasons people decide not to believe in God stem from rejection of
the Bible; lack of trust in the local church; and the "cultural
reinforcement of a secular worldview."
"Skeptics dismiss the idea
that the Bible is Holy or supernatural in any way. Two-thirds contend
that it is simply a book of well-known stories and advice, written by
humans and containing the same degree of authority and wisdom as any
other self-help book," the report said.
It added that the other
one-third believe that the Bible is either a historical document that
contains "the unique but not God-inspired accounts of events that
happened in the past," or do not really know what to make of the Bible.
David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, said: "The
data show that some cities — and younger generations — are more
Gospel-resistant than others. It is increasingly common among
millennials to dismiss religion, God, churches, authority and tradition.
For years, some observers have claimed colleges and universities are a
breeding ground for anti-God sentiment. The data does lend support to
the notion that college campuses are comfortable places for young people
to abandon God and assume control of their own lives."
The
group explained that today's skeptics, much like their counterparts two
decades ago, are defined by their denial and doubts about God's
existence. Their demographics have been changing considerably, however.
As
other studies have also found, younger people are more likely to be
skeptics than older people. Barna says that today, 34 percent of all
skeptics are younger than 30.
The statistics also showed that half
of all skeptics have a college degree, and that many more women today
are joining their ranks — only 16 percent of skeptics in 1993 were
women, but by 2013 that number grew to 43 percent.
Kinnaman added
in his statement: "Figuring out how to effectively engage skeptics is
difficult. One of the unexpected results we uncovered is the limited
influence of personal relationships on skeptics. They are considerably
less relational and less engaged in social activities than the average
American. Christians for whom 'ministry is about relationships' may be
disappointed when they find that many skeptics are not as enamored of
relational bonds as are those who are already a part of church life."
"But
in giving his followers the Great Commission, Jesus didn't mention
anything about doing what is easy. New levels of courage and clarity
will be required to connect beyond the Christianized majority."
Barna
reached out to 23,000 churched and unchurched adults for the study, and
found that for each survey of 1,000 people, the estimated maximum
sampling error was plus or minus 3.1 percent at the 95 percent
confidence level.
Other polls, such as the 2014 General Social Survey conducted
by NORC and the University of Chicago, which was released in March,
also found that the number of Americans leaving organized religion is at
a record high, at 21 percent.
The survey reported, however, that
only 3 percent of the respondents to its poll are atheist, while 5
percent identified as agnostic, which is a notably lower number than
Barna's statistics.

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Me

Ambassador T. Brikins is a Writer Blogger, Mass Communications Consultant and Inforpreneur having experiences in the National News Media, Oil and Gas, Administration, University and the Church of Christ..
He is C.E.O. @ New Direction Communications..
He is an ordained Minister and heavily imparted by Dr. David Oyedepo, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, Rev.Roselyn Oduyemi, Kenneth Copeland,Dr. D.Yongi Cho, Apostle Alex Bamgbola, Kenneth E. Hagin, Apostle G. Oduyemi, Archbishop Benson Idahosa, T.L. Osborn,Dr. E.W. Kenyon , Oral Roberts and many more.
Ambassador T. Brikins runs with the visions of Isaiah 11:9; Matthew 23:23 and 11 Corinthians 5:16-21 working with the Lord for their practical expressions in every area of life. .
He lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
Twitter:@Brikins_tuoyo
Email:weightiermatter@gmail.com
Phone:+234-8023131300